it always rains on Sunday; well, actually not just Sunday....

so, I've been bad and not blogged for a while. its nothing personal, i just thought things were getting a bit serious between us, and i didn't want to over-commit. typical male really.

I've actually been decorating in much of my spare time anyway. and Jeez, it's hard! especially fucking wallpapering. another thing added to the "wifely qualities desired" list (it now reads: car and driving license, ability to engage with people better than i can, some cooking skills, must never require me to wallpaper so much as a foot). but the painting's alright, and kinda relaxing in a Karate Kid way (paint fence!!). saw that t'other day. good film. made me feel 6 again. back when straightforward cowardice wasn't the only option, and a girl like Elisabeth Shue was a dim plausibility. and the moving around of furniture has revealed a nicer layout which maximises space.a small gain, but a gain all the same. of course, redecorating also allows me time to listen to whatever Cd's are grabbing my handle: Stereolab (who are a JOY on a sunny day), Sparks, and Steely Dan. The last two are recent acquisitions, and whilst i expected to like Sparks, i wasn't expecting how much. i bought Kimono My House, and its absolutely brilliant. loony tunes pop that sounds as mad now as it must have done in 1973. the very new liking for Steely Dan could be age catching up with me, because previously they seemed a perfect example of "critically adored band i will never get", but once you get past the shiny west coast 70's sheen, they are really clever, melodically and lyrically. and like Stereolab, perfect for hot summer days. the new Young Knives album is still getting heavy play too: reminding me why i miss blur and XTC not releasing anything.




work, as ever, is daft affair. my employer's central hive mind seems to have gone doolally long ago; our understaffing continues, despite its obviousness to all. i don't think we're far off the sellers getting together and taking it up with the manager or even the area manager. the ever stroppy Drusilla won't ask for help to the manager, and she in turn won't ask for help from the regional and area managers. when the visits came, all problems were concealed, and my manager bounced about pleased as punch that we'd got such a good report, despite it being a paper over the cracks job. they can claim we haven't the budget for more staff, but its crap, and we need staff. everyone's getting increasingly stressed, and fed-up, and the new selling scheme simply can't be executed because we aren't even on top of the basics.it will end with people getting ill or quitting, if something isn't done soon.Furthermore as some staff are leaving and not being replaced, then what exactly is happening with that money?? 4 shopfloor staff manning a two floor shop on a half term Friday is just ridiculous. what with The Aardvark leaving soon, for the great Metropolis, its all going a bit Eartha Kitt. we lurch from crisis to crisis. and i am only surviving by the fact i shan't be working too many hours after the course starts in September. mind you, my need for extra hours is not pleasant; i feel like the manager has me by the danglers. Mind you, not sure i could care anymore. to cap it all off, the uniforms are in, and ugly and ridiculous they are. they make us look more untidy than we did in our own clothes. and I'm already finding customers are looking slightly down at us. the uniform connotes idiocy, submission, dronery. we;re no longer people to them, merely servants. i despair of it all.





i am currently reading a history of Early Modern Europe; its a fascinating read, and full of real characters: Frederick The Great, Frederick William II, Catherine the Great, Voltaire, Robespierre. not to mention the typical succession of venal popes. the reasons for the coming together of countries are interesting. Napoleon certainly can take some responsibility for Italy as a united state, after his conquering brings it under one power for the first time in a long time. the book is by Tim Blanning, and I'd highly recommend it.





on the political front, the Tories are throwing out offensive policies by the day, as if concerned they might be becoming too electable; first, the work training camps for the under-21's (Workhouses are sooo this season). the fact community service is what we give to Minor criminals, and the Tories want to extend it to the unemployed only shows you that, for them, unemployment and criminality are roughly equivalent. Then i read one of their ministers suggesting the MLA was unnecessary, and that libraries might be something that could be run by private firms.wankers. Michael Gove has been bashing away at "progressive Child-centred learning" too; so, as usual its the sixties fault. utter crap. the education problems really started in the 70's and 80's with cuts in funding, the prescriptive weaknesses of the National Curriculum, and the increase in testing. the government have further added to these problems, by making education more instrumentalist and job-focused. its not child-centred learning that's dangerous, its employer-centred learning. "we'll teach you the basic skills you need to do a crap service industry job, and fuck the the genuine learning". skills centred learning is the responsibility of the employer not the schools; their job is to enrich children's knowledge, and equip them to discern, discriminate, reason, and argue. i note too the Tories have said nothing against the godawful city academies scheme; almost certainly because they're rubbing their hands in glee at Labour introducing a policy they'd have loved to have got away with.its all disappointment on that front. but with the Tories looking scary again, the awful possibility i might be compelled to vote for a Labour government that's a disgrace to the name rears its head again. i can't, i won't. a pox on both of you.


how are you? is the cream working?

avoid managers, Tories, and wallpaper forever.
ta ta.